Hold-down clip for idler rolls



Feb. "19, 1952 s. J. SPURGEON 2,586,270-

HOLD-DOWN CLIP FOR IDLER ROLLS Filed Oct. 15, 1949 imvzsmoz; Jam/4 u.JPukG PEI-5 ATTORNE Y5 Patented Feb. 19, 1952 UN STATES 2 586,27-.0 HQLD{DOW-N CLIP FOR IDLE R ROLLS s mu tlipiir Birmin ha Applicatipnzgoctqbcr15, 194 9, SerialNo. 1215517 6 Claims. 1 My present invention relatestomeansiorsecuring idler rolls against vertical displacement relat o' hesu po tin f ame t e eto Qne type of idler roll for belt conveyors andthe like embodies ,a central shaft or axle sup" ported at each .end inupwardly opening slots provided in suitable brackets. -When placedinalignment transversely of the belt to form a troughing supportgtherefor,the ends of the axles of adjacent rolls are supported ,in brackets dis-I posed angularly to each other, the slots-for receiving the axles beingprovided in the upper ends of such brackets, In shipping such anassembly and after it is installed it is necessary to employ some formof readily detachable means for'holding'the axles against upwardmovement in the slots. One prior means to accomplish this result hasconsisted of clips engaging the ends of the axles and pins or the likepassing through the upper ends of the supporting frame. Such meansisdifiicult to install and remove and generally is not entirelysatisfactory.

An object of my invention is to provide a clip for holding the ends of apair of angularly disposed axles against relative vertical movementwhereby the axles are both held within the grooves of their supportingbrackets. An object is to provide a hold-down clip for the adjacent ends0fidler roll axles which is so constructed that when placed about theaxle it cooperates with the supporting brackets to hold the axles seatedin the slots.

My invention contemplates a simplelJ-shaped clip one leg of which isnarrower than the other leg whereby when engaged over the axles betweenthe angularly disposed brackets the clip is held against-upward movementby the brackets and inturn holds the axles against upward movement andfirmly seated in the bottoms of'the slots.

Another object is to-provide a clip ofthe character designated whichshall be held against movement laterally of the axles and brackets bymeans of a pin passing through the legs of the clip itself, there beingno physical connection between the clip and roll supporting brackets.

A further object is to provide an improved form of clip for the outerends of the axles .of the outer rolls which shall be efiective, incombination with the clip at the inner ends .of the axles, to hold therolls in place in .the supporting stander framework therefor.

My improved hold down clips are illustrated e acc pa thisapn qat ninwhich;

form a trough drawing forming a part of 2 Fig. 1 is a transverseelevational -view-of -a-ro l l stand showing my improved-clips forholding the axles of the rolls inplace therein;-and- ;iar tjljy insection; 1

Fig. 2 is anenlargediragmental detailedview of the-supporting bracketsfor adjacent-ends of a pair of roll axles withaclip inplace-therebetween;

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view taken-generally along line III-III ofFig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an isometricflview of the U shape d clip down in Figs. -lto 3inclnsive;

Fig. 5 is a develcpedplan view at the clip shown inIig. 4; a

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional-view taken generally along line -VI-Vl ofFig. 2; Y

Fig. "l a fragrnental end elevaticnal "view showing my improved form ofclip for use gait the outer ends Ofthe axles or the outer-rolls;

and

*Fig. 8 isa detail sectionalviewtaken generally along line VIIIV;II I of7. I Referring now'to the drawings; and more 'p articularly to Figs. 1to 6 inclusivef-I show at-fl'fl and. II a pair of end spporting-brackets or Standards a t d .sunnq fith oute 19. 15 '5'? and I3of an idler roll assembl (Theinterr ediate roll 14 ;-togetherwiththerolls l Z and; l 3 ns UPP iQ ineu perfi sht;, i of a conveyorbelt. I h standards are crqssbraced by a suitable member |'1, and theupper ends of the standards It and II are inwardly bent as indicated.Each of-the-rolls l2, 1:3 and 'lfie nbodias a ce ntrally disposed axle13. The rolls lproper are m e o n abl bearin s, .notsh wn. internsupported on theaxlesql 8. The endso-f theaxles r c ou a l o t le d -gthe 9 and the inner ends of the axles for the rolls l2 and Hi may beheaded as indicated at 19. ;I .gi kewise, both ends of theaxles l8 ofthe roll -l4 rnay"be provided withtheheads l9.

In the-manner well understood'the'adjacent inner ends of theaxlesior-the rolls 14-13 and l-4 |2 are supported in -Y-shaped'brackts20 secured in asuitable -manner to the-cross member H. one leg tl of thebrackets-20 may be formed integrally with the portions secured-tothecross member H. We1ded-0r otherwise sa cured to a side of thebracket? -is-;the leg 22 thereof and. which .is inwardly directed-withtaspect to theleg 21 wherebyrzthe legsulienormal toethe axes of the:axle's'efor the rolls .l-2 and-=13, namely, parallel to :the: inwardlydireoted upper ends ofitheubracketsgglflandilalfl The upperxends ste m 3of the legs 2| and 22 are provided with upwardly openings slots 26.Likewise, the upper ends of the standards 10 and ii are provided withupwardly opening slots 21. The axles for the rolls are placed in theseslots, and rest in the bottoms thereof.

The above described construction is old in the art, and as such forms nopart of my invention. My invention consists in part in the provision ofthe U-shaped clip indicated generally at 28 adapted to be placed overthe projecting ends of the axles between the legs of the brackets 20.With a clip 28 placed over the ends of the axles the axles arerestrained against relative vertical movement. Consequently, if one axlemoves upwardly the other moves in unison therewith. Under theseconditions the ends thereof contact after a small amount of verticalmovement due to the increase in the angle between the axes thereof, thuspreventing further movement. The clip 28 may be made of a piece of flatsteel stock. In the preferred embodiment I so shape the clip 28 that itwedges between the legs of the bracket 20 after a slight upward movementof the ends of the axles. To this end, the stock is so cut that there isa section 29 at one end which is narrower in width than the section 3|at the opposite end. The sections 23 and 3| are joined by a taperingsection 32. With a piece of steel out as shown in Fig. 5 I then bend thesame to U- shape as shown in Fig. 4, thus to provide a clip in which theupper leg 29 is narrower than the lower leg 3|, and in which the legsare joined by the tapering section 32, which latter section forms thebase of the U. In each leg I provide a hole 33 for receiving a cotterpin 34 or the like.

In use, it will be seen that when the clips are inserted between thelegs 2! and 22 the upper leg 29 contacts the upper portion of the facesof the brackets and the lower leg 3i contacts the faces of the bracketsat a lower point. The rolls are thus held effectively against upwardmovement, since the edges of the clip are in contact with the convergingsides of the legs of the bracket. The section 32 of the clip evenlycontacts the surfaces of the legs 2] and 22 due to the graduallyincreasing width thereof commencing at the inner end of the leg 29 andproceeding downwardly. The bracket is held against lateral displacementof the ends of the axles by means of the cotter pin 34, the cotter pinbeing of such a size as not to'pass between the headed ends [9 ofadjacent roll axles.

It will be apparent that the clip prevents the axles and rolls frommoving upwardly out of the slots 26, and further that due to the shapethereof the clips cannot rotate about the axles. This is due to the factthat the legs and portion 32 are in contact with the faces of the legs2! and 22 when the legs ofthe clip are substantially horizontal.

My invention further consists of the clip now to be described. At theouter end of the axles of the rolls l2 and I3 I provide a ring type clip36 having an extension 31 thereon. The upper or ring portion of the clipfits over the headed end of the axle I8, and the clip is held to the endstandards I0 and II by means of set screws 38. With the combination ofthe clips 28 and 36 it will be apparent that the axles of the rolls areeffectively prevented from becoming displaced upwardly out of the slots26 and 21.

From theforegoing it will be apparent that I have devised clips forholding the axles of conveyor rolls and the like in place within thesupporting framework therefor. From a consideration of the drawings andthe disclosure herewith, it will be apparent that the clips may bereadily removed by withdrawing the cotter pins 34, or by removing thescrews 38. It will be further apparent that with the exception of thescrew 38 for the clips 36 there is no physical attachment of the clipsto the supporting framework for the rolls. This is particularlyadvantageous at the brackets 20 due to the difficulty of gaining accessto screws, bolts or the like placed at that point. In actual practice Ihave found that both the clips 28 and 36 are extremely satisfactory, andeconomical of production. While in the preferred form the clips areconstructed and arranged for the edges thereof to contact the adjacentfaces of the legs of the bracket 20, it will be seen that a clip 28 of awidth only suflicient to prevent relative vertical movement of the axleends is an effective hold down device. My invention thereforecontemplates the provision of such a clip although as stated I prefer toutilize the wedging effect described herein.

While I have shown my invention in but two forms, it will be obvious tothose skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptibleof various changes and modifications, without departing from the spiritthereof, and I desire therefore, that only such limitations shall beplaced thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a troughing idler roll assembly of the type having centrallydisposed roll axles and converging brackets having upwardly openingslots in which the ends of the axles are placed to extend past thebrackets, a unitary U-shaped clip straddling the extending ends of theaxles and having an upper leg narrower than the lower leg, a taperingbase section connecting the legs, said legs and base section being of awidth for the edges of the clip to engage the adjacent faces of saidbrackets, anda removable member joinin the legs on the side of saidaxles opposite the base of the clip.

2. For use in holding the ends of the axles of troughing idler rollsseated in the bottoms of upwardly opening slots provided in adjacentupwardly converging brackets and wherein the ends of said axles projectthrough said slots, a clip straddling the projecting ends of said axlescomprising a U-shaped strip of metal having an upper narrow leg and alower leg wider than the upper leg, and a base section taperingwidthwise and joining said legs.

3. For use in holding the ends of idler roll axles seated in the bottomsof upwardly opening slots provided in adjacent upwardly convergingbrackets and wherein the ends of said axles project through said slots,a U-shaped metal clip disposed to straddle the projecting ends of saidaxles, the upper and lower legs of the clip being of a width for theedges thereof to simultaneously engage the faces of said brackets, thebase portion of the clip being tapered in width whereby its edgessimultaneously engage the faces of the brackets, and a removable memberconnectin the legs of the clip on the side of the axles opposite thebase.

4. For use in holding the ends of idler roll axles seated in the bottomsof upwardly opening slots provided in adjacent upwardly convergingsupporting brackets and wherein the ends of said axles project throughsaid slots, a U-shaped metal clip of a size to straddl the ends of saidaxles and having legs longer than the diameter of said axles, one ofsaid legs being narrower than the other and the base of the clip beingtapered in width and connecting said legs, the respective width of thelegs and base being such that the edges of the same simultaneouslycontact the adjacent faces of the supporting brackets when the clip isin place about the ends of said axles, and a removable member passingthrough the legs of said clip and holding the same against movementlaterally of the axles.

5. The combination with an idler roll having an axle supported at eachend in upwardly opening slots provided in supporting brackets one ofwhich comprises a pair of inwardly converging legs and wherein the endsof said axles project through the brackets, of a U-shaped clipsurrounding the projecting ends of said axles between the inwardlyconverging legs of said bracket, said clip being constructed andarranged when in place to wedge against the adjacent faces of said legsthereby to restrain theassociated end of the axle against upwardmovement, a removable member cross connecting the legs of said 6 clipson the side of the axles opposite the base of the clip, a second clipsurrounding the opposite projecting end of the axle, and means toremovably fasten the second clip to its associated bracket.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 5 in which said second clip embodies aring portion and an extension portion, and in which the means to fastenthe same cOmprises a Screw passing through the extension portion andtapped into the bracket.

SAMUEL J. SPURGEON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,574,511 Philips Feb. 23, 19262,127,643 Glossmann Aug. 23, 1938 2,312,610 Weiss et a1 Mar. 2, 1943

